Casual Employment - The Book Grocer

Ongoing hiring for stores is currently paused

A quick note that since the start of COVID the Book Grocer has not been opening new stores. We are therefore not hiring at the pace that we used to (although we hope that things will change in the future).  However, if you would like to be considered for positions that come up from time to time in existing stores, this is the place to start! 

We are always interested in hearing from reliable, enthusiastic and creative people who love books and are great with customers.  We get a lot of applications to work at the Book Grocer. Unlike many other bookstores we do not require that you have prior experience in a bookstore before working for us. However it is important that you know and love books and are enthusiastic about sharing this with our customers. It is also preferable that you have some customer service experience.

If you would like to apply for work with us, you should begin with this online form.  This helps us see where our applicants live (so we can reduce commuting time for our staff), provides us with an overview of your experience, and helps us understand a bit about the role books play in your life - plus anything else you think we should know!

Are you a student? We are now accepting applications from students (you must be aged over 16 to apply) - simply mention this as you apply for a position with us, and we will take this into account.  You can use a teacher or family friend as a referee if you don't have any retail experience as yet. Make sure your love for books shines through in your application!

The application form can be found here.

Don't worry - you can edit the form after you complete it if you forget something. You can also copy and paste bits of your own CV or covering letter into the form, too.

The kind of employment we offer (we’ll include these points in the form):

• Employment on a casual basis, 8-12 hours per week, usually in shifts lasting around 4 hours. We are not hiring full time or part time staff currently.
• Employment potentially of a very short term nature: many of our stores are on casual licence agreements (basically, pop up stores).  These stores might close with just a few weeks’ notice, depending on many factors. 
• In many of our stores, staff work alone. We’re after responsible, trustworthy people who can show initiative and are enthusiastic about hard work. Don’t worry - we’ll train you!
• Bookshop work which is physically demanding.  Tasks include unpacking boxes, shelving books, moving things around, and standing for extended periods of time. You need to be able to perform these tasks comfortably throughout your shift, and abide by our safety rules.

 Before you fill in the form you should ensure the above points work for you. You should also prepare to provide the following details:

• an overview of your retail / customer service experience
• phone contact details for 2 referees, preferably who can discuss your retail experience. Please make sure you’ve asked your referees to do this
• an overview of your availability
• on a 7-day basis
• including weekends and potential late (10pm) finishes on occasion
• over the Christmas period
• if you have any other travel plans
• if you are available to commence immediately
• an outline of what books mean to you, including answers to the following questions
• What books are important to you? Give us a little overview of what books you like to read and recommend to others
• What area of the store would you need to work hardest to familiarise yourself with?
• Write a short review of the last book you read and enjoyed - just a few sentences will do - imagine it being written on a review card and hung on the shelf just above the book as a recommendation.
• What do you want to be doing in five years’ time?

 At an interview

If you succeed in gaining an interview we will be asking about your customer service experience, what you know of our business, as well as testing your familiarity with different kinds of books

• At the interview we ask candidates to show us how they would identify books from different areas of the store.
• We’re looking for people who can use their book knowledge to converse with customers and recommend books. We ask candidates to show us how they would recommend a book to a customer based on another book that the customer might be interested in.

We look forward to hearing from you!